Selwyn N. Tucker

Options for applying BPR in the Australian construction industry

Abstract Many industries world-wide have found Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) to be an effective approach in achieving dramatic improvements in production time and cost. Yet little attention has been paid to its potential in the construction industry. This paper identifies the driving forces for the need for BPR in construction, explores its applicability and discusses major issues of current business processes in relation to clients, designers and contractors. BPR is presented as a means rather than a goal in order to facilitate creating wider objectives for all participants in the construction industry. The paper also proposes re-engineered solutions to these selected issues and identifies areas where BPR can be effective.

Microcomputer Applications for Social and Physical Infrastructure Planning

A considerable array of planning technology has been developed in western industrialised countries since the 1950s. Much of this is computer-based, through necessity. Settlement systems, whether seen at the regional or metropolitan level, at the level of the neighbourhood or even at the level of an individual building and its immediate environment, represent complex entities. Their planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance is an involved process. Furthermore, the decisions made in respect of provision of urban infrastructure have significant implications for the economic performance of local economies and the social well-being of the constituent population.